Limited Time Offer: Capital One Venture Double Miles Challenge: The Fine Print Explained

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Want to find out exactly how to get the 100,000 miles promised by the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card’s Double Miles Challenge? Does your cash back card qualify for rewards? Can you still participate if you already have the Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card? If you have questions about the promo, read on: the nerds have answers.

Update March 30, 2012: Unfortunately, NerdWallet is no longer able to offer the Venture Double Miles promotion. The Venture’s still an amazing offer, though, delivering long-term value with a solid 2 miles per $1 spent. Check out our review of the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card!

The basics

For a full description of the Double Miles Challenge, read our first blog post on the promo. Otherwise, here’s a quick refresher: As a signup bonus for the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card, they offered 2 No Hassle Miles per $1 spent on your travel card, up to 100,000 miles paid out.

There’s a deadline, though. Capital One said it would end the promo once it has given out 1 billion miles or on May 1, whichever comes first. In last year’s Match My Miles Challenge, the miles were gone in a heartbeat, so act quickly. Here are the specs on the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card:

Earn 2 No Hassle Miles per $1 spent anywhere, a 2% rewards rate

Redeem those miles as a statement credit against any travel expense

No foreign transaction fee

Annual fee of $0 intro for first year; $59 after that.

How do I get the bonus?

Apply for and be approved for the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card, of course

Register online for the Double Miles Challenge within 7 days receiving an approval email

What is a qualifying credit card? The 2011 card must give rewards that can be redeemed for travel purchases (hotel loyalty points, rental cards, airfare, and so on). It must be a non-Capital One consumer credit card issued by AmEx, Discover, Visa or MasterCard.

Examples of cards that don’t qualify: business credit cards, corporate cards, debit cards, prepaid cards, those non-network credit cards that can only be used at a certain store or gas station.

Do bonuses count? Nope. Last year, they let you use signup bonuses towards the Match My Miles Challenge. This year, they’ve wised up, and they’ll just double your spending on your travel card.

What if I have a cash back card? We’ve gotten conflicting reports. Mostly, it’s that you’re out of luck. But one agent I spoke to says that if you redeem your rewards for cash back and then use the money to pay for travel, no dice. But if you earn your points and redeem them for travel, that will count towards the challenge. For example, if you use the rewards on your Chase Freedom® to book travel through the Ultimate Rewards tool, the rewards used there (and only there) will be eligible.

What if I already have a Capital One card? You can still participate, as long as the 2011 card isn’t from Capital One, and you haven’t applied for a card within 45 days. And of course, you’re ineligible if you’re already a Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card holder, though you’re fine if you have the Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card.

Can I use multiple credit cards? Nope, just one, so choose the one with the most miles earned.

Convinced?

(P.S. Still have questions? Leave ’em in the comments below and we’ll get back to you.)

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